To fit right in among the local people in Gothenburg, first you need to know how to pronounce the name of the city. Yuh-teh-borry, is the correct pronunciation - so practice well before arriving.

This settlement at the mouth of the Göta River has been in existence since Stone Age times some 9,000 years ago, and in the Middle Ages marauding Vikings set sail from here to maraud hither and yon.

In the seventeenth century, during the war between Denmark and Sweden over paying dues to exit the narrow Baltic access route through the Kattegat, Gothenburg came to prominence when, in 1621, King Guatavius Adolphus founded the port and gave the city its name. At the time it was the only point on the Western Swedish seaboard controlled by Sweden, Denmark ruled the rest. Gothenburg’s maritime links date from that time and include strong ties with Holland, Germany, England and Scotland. Understandably considering the war, Denmark was not high on the list of friends for a while.

Gothenburg is now Sweden's second largest city and expresses a desire to remain small but perfectly made. The area has its own culture and even its own dialect. It is small enough to have retained its charm, but big enough to offer the industry and communications demanded by the modern world. It has excellent connections by air and sea which not only serve the local industries – among others there is a shipyard, a manufacturer of oil rig platforms and, coincidentally, the city also is the home of Volvo – but also make Gothenburg readily accessible for the five million tourists who travel each year to enjoy the archipelago, beaches, forests and lakes.

But the city itself is worthy of a close look. There is a distinct café culture that makes travelling the city a delight. Do a little sightseeing, take in a little culture, stop in a café for refreshment. Walk in the park or look at the ships on the harbour, take a little refreshment. Oh, what the hell; spend the whole day going from café to café! Why not?